Akon gets candid about having multiple partners

Akon has spoken openly about his polyamorous lifestyle, confirming he has multiple wives and offering a candid look at how the arrangement works in practice.

The Lonely singer, 53, appeared on the We Need to Talk podcast on Tuesday, 19 May, where he addressed his relationships directly and without apology. 

When asked how many wives he has, Akon, real name Aliaune Thiam, declined to give a number. 

"I'll just leave that to your imagination," he said, adding with a smile that "it's entertainment" when the question was put in the context of having more spouses than Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who himself has two wives.

On the broader question of why men pursue multiple partners, Akon was philosophical. 

"Polyamory is a natural behavior for men," he said. "Now, because of the rules that are set around us, we control that behaviour to, you can say, appease our partner because of the same rules that we're living by and that we're agreeing upon." 

He drew a clear distinction between being single and being in a committed relationship, noting that the rules only matter once a promise has been made.

He also offered a glimpse into family life, revealing he has nine children in total, seven boys and two girls. 

The key to making it all work, he said, is communication. 

"You got to be mature enough to know that, 'If this is the situation that I'm going to park in, I have to communicate.'"

There is, however, a clear hierarchy. 

His first wife holds a special status that is non-negotiable. She is his emergency contact, full stop, and anyone who disrespects that is out.

"Nobody violates Wife No. 1," he said bluntly. "She's the queen. The moment they violate, out the door. She's the one that's actually sacrificing in the end." 

Notably, the arrangement is not symmetrical, his wives are not permitted to have other partners.

To those who would criticise his choices, Akon was equally direct. 

"If you're going to do it, be honest about it," he said, adding that in his experience, critics of his lifestyle are often not as straightforward about their own. 

He also pushed back against the idea that polyamory primarily benefits the man. 

"The benefit is more for the woman than it is for the man because the man actually has to take care of all of them. He has to treat them all equally and their responsibility bears on him as well."